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| On Saturday, Dayton Winn went over 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the Warriors' win vs. Washington U. Hendrix athletics photo |
Hendrix coach Buck Buchanan wasn’t sure where he was going to put Dayton Winn when he recruited him. All the head coach of the Warriors knew was that Winn was special.
“I just knew he was a great player and we were fortunate to be able to get him,” Buchanan said. “He is just a football player and I would be willing to say that he would work to be great at any position we put him at. He would play nose guard if we asked him to.”
For the record, Winn did play on the defensive side of the ball in high school. He was a cornerback. But his first love was always playing running back and that is what he wanted to play more than anything in college.
To say he has thrived at the position despite being only 5-10 and 155 pounds would be a huge understatement.
Winn rushed for nearly 2,000 yards in his first two seasons with the Warriors and rolled up more than 3,600 yards in his first two seasons as well.
This season, he already owns the Southern Athletic Association record for rushing yards in a season (1,532) and owns the school record for touchdowns in a season (20). Oh, and if that isn’t enough, he leads the country in all-purpose yards (267.8 yards per game).
“I owe it all to my coaches and my teammates,” Winn said. “The coaching staff does a great job of putting in a position to make plays and my teammates do their job to help me make those plays. It’s a team effort. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
The work ethic Winn brings to the table makes a difference as well.
“I just go out there and work hard and play as hard as I can every week,” Winn said. “I don’t worry about the records I’ve broken or the all-conference honors. I just want to do what I can to help the team win football games.”
The Warriors, in their third year of having football again, are indeed winning, sitting at 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the SAA. Their win total ties a school record -- the 1926 team went 7-1-1 -- and with a win Saturday against Sewanee, they can earn at least a share of the conference championship.
“We had a couple of tough losses, but it’s been a great year and you can’t ask for anything more than being in a position to win a championship,” Buchanan said. “Our guys give their best every time they play and they understand what it takes to win. We’ve worked hard to get here.”
Winn has helped the cause. Not only has he gone over 1,500 yards rushing, but he is a solid receiving threat as well, catching 19 passes for 300 yards and three scores.
He said adapting to the speed of the game was one of the biggest challenges when he started at Hendrix, but he certainly adapted well, earning newcomer of the year honors in the league.
As for improvements, leadership has been a big one.
“I’d definitely say I’ve become more of a vocal leader,” Winn said. “I was used to going out and just doing my job and leading by example, but now I talk more and I’m someone younger players can look up to.”
Buchanan will attest to that.
“Dayton is a man of few words, but when he speaks, people listen,” Buchanan said.
The impressive stats do a lot of the talking for Winn, who still has one more season to go, which is bad news for opposing defenses in the SAA.
He also makes an impact off the field, helping out with the pee-wee football program in Conway. In fact, he was scheduled to be the guest speaker at the program’s banquet this week.
In the classroom, he’s a 3.0 student and plans to go into sports administration and business.
“I’m just hoping he will hire me one day,” Buchanan joked.
For now, Winn won’t be doing any hiring, instead focused on continuing to fire on all cylinders. He’s helped the Warriors win almost as many games as they won the last two seasons. They won nine games during that stretch.
“I’m happy with the experience I’ve had here and the way we’ve been able to build this program up,” Winn said. “We’ve learned a lot from the last two seasons and it’s helped us become a better football team this year.”
Winn’s hope is that this season ends with at least a share of the title. The Warriors will win it outright if they beat Sewanee and Berry drops its finale to Centre. The Vikings are also 6-1.
“We just have to go out and take care of what we can do and see what happens,” Winn said. “We know if we play our best, we’ll at least get a share of the championship. It would be a great accomplishment for us.”
Tigers make statement
For the first time since 2003, East Texas Baptist can call itself champions of the American Southwest Conference. The Tigers earned at least a share of the title by stunning nationally ranked Hardin-Simmons 27-21 on Saturday. The Cowboys were No. 8 in the nation.
Kendall Roberson played a big part in the victory, carrying the ball 50 times - a single-game record -- for 193 yards. He also rushed for three touchdowns and leads the country in that department with 22. His effort helped the Tigers become only the third team this year to score 20 or more points on the Cowboys.
The defense was tremendous as well, forcing four turnovers and racking up six sacks. C.J. Johnson helped lead the charge with 12 tackles and three sacks. Johnson ranks second on the team in tackles (52) and is second in sacks (6.5) as well.
East Texas Baptist, now 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the league, faces national power Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday with the chance to win the title outright.
Panthers pull off upset
Birmingham-Southern hasn’t had the greatest season, but the Panthers closed out their 2015 campaign in style, stunning Berry 14-7.
The Vikings came in unbeaten in SAA play and had their seven-game win streak snapped. Birmingham-Southern ended its two-game slide and the seven points was the fewest allowed by the Panthers this year.
Samir Usman helped pave the way as he rushed for 92 yards and scored the final touchdown of the day for the Panthers, who wrap up the year at 5-5 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
Usman’s touchdown was his eighth of the season. Usman finishes as the team’s leading rusher, rolling up 948 yards, nearly 300 more (664) than he had all of last season.
Bulldogs clinch title share
Texas Lutheran is assured of at least a share of its third consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship after rolling to a 41-7 win over Austin. The Bulldogs are 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.
It was a big day for quarterback Trenton White, who threw four touchdown passes and became the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in that category.
White now has 61 career touchdown passes. White has completed more than 60 percent of his passes (191-of-297) this year and has thrown for over 2,000 yards (2,227). He has thrown 27 touchdown passes as well.
The Bulldogs are averaging 467.4 yards per game and have scored 40 or more six times.
Noteworthy
Millsaps won its first SAA game of the year Saturday, pounding Sewanee 42-12. Raphael Johnson rushed for career-best 143 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson has rushed for just over 400 yards (409) and has six touchdowns on the year. The Majors are 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the conference.
Trinity won its final home game Saturday, rallying from a 12-point deficit to knock off Southwestern 27-19 in SCAC action. The Tigers, who are 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the league, hurried the quarterback 23 times. Luke Packard and Mitchell Globe led the defense with 10 tackles apiece. Packard came up with 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries as well.
Cade Maxwell turned in one of the best defensive performances in school history to help Louisiana College take down McMurry 28-15. Maxwell racked up seven tackles, including five for a loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The Wildcats improved to 3-6 overall and are 1-3 in ASC play.
Contact Me
If you have a great story idea or notable accomplishments that deserve a mention in this column, feel free to reach out to me at brian.lester@d3sports.com. You can also follow on Twitter @BLester1993.
